Merrill Osmond shares all in 'last visit' to Yorkshire

Yorkshire Post

Merrill from The Osmonds speaks to Sophie Mei Lan.

Transcript

00:00It all began when two Geth brothers came into the world and

00:05my mother and father were a little bit shocked, obviously.

00:09The whole idea there was to buy hearing aids.

00:12And so we couldn't afford hearing aids.

00:15So we came up with an idea, maybe singing a little bit.

00:19So we got singing Barbershop Harmony.

00:2140 bucks came in, 50 bucks came in, 20 bucks.

00:25And so we started pulling money together to buy hearing aids.

00:28That's why it all started.

00:30And our mother just had this dream that she wanted to carry on.

00:34And buying hearing aids was exactly the research was done.

00:39So none of us ever thought for a billion years

00:44that things would turn out the way they had for the Oscars.

00:47And tell us about that, because in your new book, Black Bear,

00:51and Bear was your nickname, wasn't it, as a child?

00:54Yeah, Bear.

00:55Wayne is, Brother Wayne passed away.

00:57He was the one that said, Bear, Bear, Bear, Bear, Bear, Bear.

01:00So everything was bare.

01:02And then the funny thing about the black is that, well, Tuesday.

01:06Black was, I used to love purple.

01:09All my shirts were purple, and my socks were purple,

01:12and my mother bought me purple.

01:14Until Donnie, one day, was in front of a teen magazine, Tiger Beat.

01:19They said, Donnie, what color do you like?

01:22Purple.

01:23Purple.

01:24Well, then went on my shorts.

01:26I mean, all my clothes were down.

01:31I had to find another color.

01:32So I like black.

01:34And so, black.

01:35But that's really, that's just one aspect of it.

01:38Black Bear has become a code over the years.

01:42I've been a lot of stalking, a lot of people who want to take my life.

01:46I've never figured out why, but this one guy I remember,

01:50he wanted my head for his wall.

01:54And he was very, very, it's in my book.

01:56I talk about that.

01:57That sort of woke me up.

01:58And then my wife had death threats because she was married to me.

02:03And my kids have been threatened.

02:05And I could go on and on with the stories.

02:08But it's in the book.

02:09But the code word was black.

02:13And even today it is.

02:16And it's still stalking going on.

02:19Crazy times.

02:21Anyway, that's why it's a code word.

02:26Well, there's a couple of thoughts.

02:29So, after 65 years of what I've done, I've been very shy.

02:38I have had no self-esteem.

02:40I used to be heavy.

02:42And I used to have half of a hamburger.

02:45So, my self-esteem is always shy.

02:48But I've now gone through it.

02:50I've gone through depression and anxiety.

02:52I'm a manic.

02:55And all these things.

02:56And I've had three nervous breakdowns.

02:58And all of them simply because.

03:00And I went through a little bit of sexual abuse by a teacher of all things.

03:06It was our teacher.

03:07And my family said, why are you even bringing that up?

03:11And it's simple.

03:13Because I've found out when I do my Friday posts.

03:17Every Friday I do a post.

03:19When I get a little vulnerable.

03:21People are confident.

03:23Thank you for being a little vulnerable.

03:26Because we've gone through it.

03:27You've never realised that I was going through it.

03:30And it's healing.

03:31It's healing for them.

03:32I feel like I can talk to people one to one.

03:35And I can't be afraid to be vulnerable.

03:40And what pressure is that like?

03:42Being vulnerable.

03:43But also when you've got the Osmond name.

03:45See, here you go back to that self esteem issue.

03:48I've never figured it out.

03:50Honestly, I've never figured it out.

03:52I can understand maybe Donnie.

03:54He was a teen idol.

03:56And I was just simply the lead singer of the brothers.

03:59But I never could understand the story and the attraction.

04:05Honestly, I've never figured it out.

04:08But what your question is.

04:11The Osmond was like perfection.

04:15You can't make a mistake.

04:17That was in my head at the beginning.

04:20You don't make mistakes.

04:22Well, guess what?

04:25I've made billions of them.

04:27And that process is hard for me to get through too.

04:31Is that when you're told it's all about perfection.

04:35And it isn't that way at the end of the game.

04:38It does suck to you.

04:40But all of it.

04:41You have to make mistakes.

04:42You have to go through hell.

04:44Otherwise, you're never going to know what heaven is.

04:47You know what I mean?

04:48You have to go through darkness to know what light is.

04:51And for me, I've seen it.

04:53I've been there.

04:54I've done it.

04:55I've experienced it.

04:56And for me, I'm now 72.

05:00And I'm getting there.

05:02I'm an old guy.

05:03And I'm ready to just play grandpa and reflect.

05:09And if somebody wants to come and ask me a question,

05:12I can literally say, I understand.

05:16I understand your pain.

05:17I understand your frustrations.

05:19I understand how you've fallen.

05:22And how you can get back up.

05:24So, I mean, that's just me.

05:27I've always wanted to be a doctor.

05:30And so maybe I look back now and I say, maybe I was a little bit of a doctor through music, songs I sang.

05:38And maybe there's a little Friday pose.

05:41See, I get a little emotional.

05:43And you do, you have, if you don't mind me saying a certain, it's a charisma and a warmth.

05:51But also like, one, that I'm sat here and I just, you want to ask you anything.

05:56Yeah.

05:57You can.

05:58You have that sense, that aura.

06:00See, why am I tearing up?

06:02You know how difficult you can be.

06:05I just love people.

06:08And you're saying this book is almost a bit of closure in terms of you traveling the world and doing, living the crazy lifestyle.

06:16Yeah.

06:17Yeah.

06:18I've been there.

06:19You know, thank goodness for Paul McCartney, for instance, when we came over to England in the 70s.

06:25Boy, the press hated us.

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